UAE warns public to seek shelter immediately after warning alerts
The UAE hosts thousands of US personnel at Al Dhafra airbase near the capital Abu Dhabi, one of several American military sites in the Gulf.. PHOTO: PEXELS
The United Arab Emirates Supreme Council for National Security has urged the public to comply immediately with warning alerts by heading to a safe place and taking shelter until an official “all clear” is announced, the council said on Thursday.
The council issued important safety guidelines after noting that some members of the public, upon receiving alerts, left their homes or places of residence, or stopped their vehicles to record videos — actions that could endanger their safety.
“The warning is issued for your safety,” the council emphasised, stressing the importance of promptly seeking shelter.
Alert for your safety — do not exit to film or record. Proceed immediately to a safe place and remain until the all-clear. pic.twitter.com/n06gBJlPab
For those in vehicles when a warning alert sounded, the council advised continuing to their intended destination and then proceeding to the nearest safe location upon arrival.
The Supreme Council concluded by calling for public cooperation to ensure safety during emergencies.
The US-Iran conflict entered its sixth day on Thursday, as Iran's military announced it had launched a drone attack against a US military site in Kuwait.
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Gulf states allied with Washington. Most were intercepted by air defences, but some residential and commercial buildings, infrastructure and US military bases have sustained damage.
The Iranian army also said it launched a drone attack on a US site in the Iraqi Kurdistan city of Erbil. "The headquarters of the American aggressor forces in Erbil, Iraq, was attacked by the army's ground forces' attack drones," the army said in a statement broadcast by state TV.
Meanwhile, Iran's state-run Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs has said that the death toll from US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic has risen to 1,230. AFP was not in a position to verify the toll.
"The number of martyrs from the aggressive military attack carried out by criminal America and the usurping Israeli regime against the Islamic homeland had reached 1,230 as of March 5," the foundation said, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.